Tony Thacker is a longtime auto industry authority, author and book publisher based in Los Angeles. Most recently, Tony was Executive Director of the World of Speed, an educational motorsports-themed museum, in Wilsonville. He served as executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona and the marketing director for the famed SO-CAL Speed Shop for 10 years.

With Panelists:

Keith Maher is a leading authority in automotive simulation - from programming to podiums, he provides custom simulation solutions to automotive problems. With 22 years in high technology and a motorsports obsession, he founded Maher Solutions, LLC to help people in the automotive industry achieve their goals through simulation.

Matt Markstaller is a mechanical engineer who has worked in various capacities for Daimler Trucks North America for 27 years. He designed and built numerous prototype vehicles including Pikes Peak Hill Climb trucks, test facilities, and wind tunnels. By night, he designs and builds vehicles from open road racers to Bonneville record streamliners.

Nick McMillen is a professional racing driver for Nissan. Born in Salem, he took an unconventional path to professional driving by winning the 2013 GT Academy, an international virtual-to-reality contest that allows the best Gran Turismo players to compete for the opportunity to become professional drivers. He won the Dubai 24 and Silverstone in 2014.

Aaron Pizzuti is a designer specializing in automotive, footwear and consumer product design and creative direction. Following a life long passion for both automobiles and art, he spent nine years at Chrysler as design manager and senior product designer. He's currently Creative Director at Under Armour in Portland.

Led by the enigmatic Tony Thacker, consider this a glimpse into a not-so-distant future of driverless cars negotiating rush hour traffic and carless drivers using augmented reality.

We’ll trace the path of Salem-based Nick McMillen from passionate video gamer to professional racecar driver and learn how the virtual and augmented training environments being pioneered by Keith Maher in Hillsboro give drivers like McMillen an edge on the track.

Then we'll take on engineering feats from self-driving trucks to land speed motorcycle design with Daimler Trucks North America's former vehicle dynamics manager Matt Markstaller and contemplate the future of automotive design with Aaron Pizzuti, a former design manager at Chrysler. From Pikes Peak to peak performance, where is technology taking us and who exactly is in the driver's seat?

Doors open at 6 pm. Come early for food, drinks and virtual reality demos. Your ticket includes the presentation, dinner, hosted bar, and a limited edition poster.

DESIGNSPEAKS exists to explore design within the multidisciplinary: architecture, brand, communications, experience, film, fashion, graphic, industrial. We establish an interface within the context of real life, supporting the most compelling regional voices in design, and talk through to the heart of the practice.

52 UNDERGROUND is a 52ltd endeavor to bring inspiring and innovative content and curriculum to the local creative community. 52 Limited is a creative + technology resource company that connects world-class talent with leading brands, marketing departments, design firms, ad and interactive agencies in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York.

Thursday, October 8, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PDT)

Organizer

DESIGNSPEAKS

DESIGNSPEAKS exists to explore design within the multidisciplinary: architecture, brand, communications, experience, film, graphic, and industrial. We establish an interface within the context of real life, supporting the most compelling voices in design, and talk through to the heart of the practice.